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    Cotton State BBQ

    4.2 (62 reviews)
    InexpensiveBarbeque
    Closed Closed
    Updated 2 months ago

    Cotton State BBQ Photos

    Business Info

    COTTON STATE BBQ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Cotton State BBQ

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    Bbq pork sandwich with slaw and fries
    Rhett B.

    Mobile seems to have a few BBQ joints that are open only for lunch. In a rare occurrence of being in Mobile around lunch, I had to find a BBQ place to try. I pulled up Yelp and saw Cotton State BBQ with a rating of 4 and half stars. Well, it is a BBQ joint but with half the menu of your regular BBQ joint. There are no BBQ plates, ribs, or the standard sides here. There are BBQ sandwiches, nachos, baked potatoes, salads, hot dogs, and banana pudding and snowballs. The choices are sliced pork, brisket, and chopped chicken. Though the menu is limited, what they do offer, they so well. I went with the pork sandwich that came sliced on a big sesame seed bun. I like my pork pulled but the pork was good. Nothing else was on the sandwich. The BBQ sauce is on the table and it is a vinegar base concoction that also most likely has mustard and ketchup thrown in. It is mildly sweet with no heat. But it does go with the sandwich and fries well. The fries have their own seasoning. The only other side offered beside fries and chips is slaw. The slaw is shredded with a light mayo/vinegar base. It seemed to have some kind of extra spice to it to make it different. I liked it better on my sandwich than I did by itself. Some other notes: Sweet tea was refreshingly sweet! Parking is an issue as you have to park on the street and find parking that might require a walk of a block and parking has to be paid. I ate here on a Monday about 1130 and they are closed on the weekend....and they were already out of brisket. How does that happen? The place is kind of small but every table was full when I left. There were 2 college girls that were the waitresses and cashiers. At times, they seemed to be overwhelmed. Cotton State BBQ is a very minimal BBQ joint that serves great as a lunch spot. It wasn't what I hoped for when I look for a BBQ joint but what Cotton State does, they seem to do it well.

    Loaded fries with pork
    Jack T.

    Cute place with good BBQ for a pit stop. If you're driving through mobile and looking for a place to fill up your stomachs this is a good hit. The prices are fair and while the space is small the portions are fair. You'll know your supporting a local family with a passion for BBQ eating here! I was a little surprised they didn't have ribs though being a BBQ joint I would like to add though. But the brisket and pulled pork were good enough for the table.

    However, this is what I got. No lettuce, no tomato, and turkey bacon. I was generous with 3 stars because it was good.
    Ray A.

    Ummmm..... online pictures are very deceiving. What I ordered looked nothing like what I got.

    Menu
    LaToya L.

    Cotton State is in the located in downtown Mobile. You can smell the smoke flavor from blocks away. If you follow your nose you will end up at cotton state bbq. They are always packed with happy customers. I ordered the brisket nachos. It comes with cheese, brisket and the chips are freshly made when you order. (Those are the best tortilla chips I've ever had) it also comes with jalapeños, sour cream & bbq sauce on the side. I really enjoyed my nachos but the brisket was overly greasy. I mainly ate the chips and other toppings because the brisket was so greasy. So if you try the nachos or the baked potato get the Chicken!

    Perfect ending to lunch with Jaime! Moonpie banana pudding!
    Karen B.

    Featured in the Mobile Bay Monthly Feb. 2015 : http://www.mobilebaymag.com/Mobile-Bay/February-2015/Tastings-Cotton-State-BBQ/ Still going strong since my last review when they opened. Get there early for a table and the famous Moon Pie Banana pudding (sometimes they run out). The own special BBQ sauce is now my new craving that has to be met often!! When you stop by tell them "KK" sent you in!

    Ashley H.

    Soooo good! As a Memphis girl, I've struggled a bit with a lot of the BBQ places around here. This isn't one I have to struggle with. I even noticed BBQ nachos on the menu. I'll be trying those next time. My pick for the day was the BBQ baked potato. Why? Well, because they slice the pork on the sandwiches and I prefer my BBQ pulled. It's still good, still has that smoke ring, but I have a hard time getting past the texture. Not complaining though, because the pork on the potato is pulled or chopped, and it's just right. Plus, I like the way the smoky pork flavor and sauce mix with the sour cream and cheese and baked potato. It's addictive. For dessert, I had to try the Moon Pie banana pudding because my coworker raves about it. It's made fresh by the owner's mom every morning. (She must really love that boy!) It's rich and creamy, made with Nilla Wafers and topped with a heavy dose of whipped cream and a quarter of a banana Moon Pie. The service was good and the little place was cute, nothing fancy. My total meal was about $16, which isn't bad for Mobile. I left fat and happy!

    Stephen P.

    Amazing service and brisquet! Wait staff was extremely friendly, helpful, and engaging! Banana pudding was to die for! Only open for lunch so make it a high priority!

    Menus
    Mitchell C.

    Amazing BBQ downtown. They have an awesome loaded baked potato. It was amazing. And there bbq sauce.....the 2 lf us took out half a bottle on our potatoes. That sauce is amazing. The meat had a great smoky flavor and the potato was great. Love the name! Love the food! I'll be back!

    If you want a brisket sandwich that is made just right this is the place to come.

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    2 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Expensive for bbq food was good but they are proud of their food. Good but not great. I'll go back but 20$ for bbq lunch is too much

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    10 months ago

    Concession stand nachos including liquid "cheese" for 3x the price. Understaffed. I feel like it must be very profitable for the owner.

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    2 years ago

    Good BBQ!!! Our office will eat here at 2-3 times a week. Nice location, friendly service!!

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Service was good, but the BBQ and brisket didn't have a whole lot of flavor and gave me a stomach ache.

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    Page 1 of 2

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    Bama Bobs BBQ - Pulled pork sandwich, potato salad, baked beans.

    Bama Bobs BBQ

    (26 reviews)

    The brisket loaded baked potatoes are humongous and they are truly loaded with a large amount of…read moresavory brisket, cheese, jalapenos and barbecue sauce, sour cream and melted butter. Absolutely hands down the best barbecue joint in Mobile or the surrounding areas. Banana pudding was also off the chain hands down the best

    I've been wanting to try this place for a while. I pass by there on a nearly daily basis, so the…read moretemptation is always there. I finally gave in to that temptation. I walked into the establishment, completely decorated by license plates from probably every state, and it was much cleaner than I was expecting it to be. I looked over the menu, and the girl at the counter was super helpful and was able to confidently and competently answer every question I had, regardless of how obvious the answer was. Now, normally when I go for barbecue, I tend to gravitate toward the brisket, but on this day, I chose the pulled pork sandwich, and this was a decision I didn't regret. This was hands down the best pulled pork I've eaten, juicy, flavorful, and smoky. The sauce, made in house, was the perfect compliment to the meat. I chose potato salad and baked beans as my sides, both of which were absolutely fantastic! The potato salad was very fresh and well seasoned. The beans were also very good, made with the same sauce on the sandwich, but with a little zing to them that gives them a bit of a kick. I had a great lunch experience here, and will definitely go back again.

    Shotgun BBQ Restaurant and Grill - Slab of ribs and sauce

    Shotgun BBQ Restaurant and Grill

    (41 reviews)

    Gem in the Alabama Bayou…read more I can't say enough about this little gem of a restaurant. From the delicious food, family ambiance and wonderful and friendly owners, Shotgun is a must stop by on your way to or from the gulf . Favorites: Burnt ends, ribs, collards, Mac n cheese, baked beans, peach cobbler. Whew !

    3.5, rounding up to 4 because of great service and the most important thing (the bbq) being good…read more We stopped here for lunch headed home from the gulf. As others have mentioned, it's a bit off the beaten path, but certainly a worthwhile stop if you enjoy bbq. This business has more seating/space inside than it looks like it might outside. We arrived and parked near the entrance in the gravel lot. It looked like they were working on a food truck while we were there. Stepping inside, it was dimly lit but clean. There are some nostalgic kids' games on the tables which provided my dad with lots of entertainment (Hungry, Hungry Hippos anyone?). The service was very kind and friendly and took care to ensure we were comfortable. I thought the prices were a touch high but they probably have to be to stay afloat. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with two sides, collard greens and smoked mac and cheese. My parents did the same thing, though I don't remember what their sides were. I thought the barbeque pork was really quite solid. It was a huge portion, so large I ultimately wound up taking the top bun off, spearing hunks of pork and putting sauce on them, then tearing off a hunk of bun rather than eating it as a traditional sandwich. The pork was tender but not mushy, not too fatty, and with a pleasant smoke flavor. The bun was nice and soft too. Definitely recommend the bbq! The sweet and slightly smoky thick bbq sauce was a great accompaniment. I liked the mac and cheese on first bite but as I kept eating it something about the smoke taste just seemed off to me. It became more and more chemical-y and artificial tasting to me, and by the time I was halfway done I was over it. I also was pretty meh on the collard greens, but to be honest I'm not normally a huge fan of them anyway so YMMV. They were a nice texture at least. Overall, solid bbq meat and great service. They're worth a shot if you're in the area.

    Bay Barbeque - The Feast!!!

    Bay Barbeque

    (30 reviews)

    What a great lunch spot off Old Shell Road ... we Started with the deviled eggs and fried pork…read moreskins. But the "old Shell plate" was the highlight. The BBQ sauce had a perfect tang to it - just like I love! The door was revolving with customers picking up rib orders the whole time we were there. Arthur Green has got a great location and Delicious food. Get the Ribs! Everyone else seemed to be getting them today ! Can't wait till he has the cream cheese sweet potato pie! -see pic

    I tried Bay Barbecue today. I wanted to order online from their website but unfortunately they…read moredon't have the website set up. No problem. I looked on Yelp and called in my order. They are a bbq place so of course I ordered the rib plate. The menu I saw said it came with 2 sides but when I was on the phone the man said the plate came with vinegar based coleslaw. I don't normally do coleslaw but I didn't want to complicate things so I went with it. That completed my order so I headed down to pick it up. I wasn't sure of the atmosphere of this place since it was my first time ordering. I got there and it seemed like a cozy little place to eat. There appeared to be limited parking. There is space in the back and on the side. I parked on the side of the building. When I was approaching the front of the place I saw that one of the windows had been knocked out. There was glass laying below the window. Also, the part of the deck right before you walk in the door was a little unstable. Not sure if this was apart of the ambiance but it didn't deter me. Anyway my order was waiting when I got to the cashier. The ride home smelled delightful. The first thing I did when I got home was try the coleslaw. It didn't look all too appealing but it was coleslaw. Coleslaw in my estimation is not a food that is aesthetically appealing. Anyway, the coleslaw was edible to me even though I'm not a coleslaw person. I wouldn't recommend it to people who don't like coleslaw. Next up, the ribs. They looked amazing. They had some little burnt parts that make it authentic bbq. I should've tried them without the sauce but I poured the sauce on first. The sauce and the ribs were excellent. The sauce was a mustard based sauce and it was delicious. The weren't especially juicy since they were babyback ribs but the taste was excellent. And the French bread and the little onions added a nice little touch to the plate. All in all I'll give my experience 4 stars. I wasn't quite sure what was going on with the building. Was it broken into or not? That did take a bit from my score but the food and service aspect of it was top notch. Go to Bay Barbecue. You won't be disappointed.

    Cotton State BBQ - bbq - Updated May 2026

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